[preproman]

Huh - the old double blind listening test.  It will get you everytime.  
 

 

[mentt]

Quote:

Has anyone tried the headphone out section on any of these products
Audiolab Mdac
Musical fidelity M1HPAP
Peachtree audio nova 125
I'm thinking about getting one of these for my speaker system but also want to be able to use headphones.
The headphones I'm looking at are either the lcd2 or HD700.

Mdac can't run LCD2 to it's potential.

 

[Audiomania2]

Wa2se would be more then fine.

 

[Audiomania2]

Wa2se would be more then fine.

 

[DemonFox]

So I've purchased both the Continental V3 and O2 to use with my LCD's and I'm quite pleased with both. Now of course because I've used the o2 along side a heavy hitter like the V3 of course it's not going to sound as large or as precise but all in all it's a good showing. It's been tested many times before but you be never really know until you test it for yourself. For example, my HD650's sound stupid good with the V3 but god awful with the o2. Which is crazy because I always thought that the HD650's were less picky than my LCD's but in this case it was the opposite. Now I will admit that while using the V3 by itself was good but it wasn't great with the LCD's, made them a little to dark. But throw in a decent DAC and magic! More kick more sparkle and it's go time. The O2 on the other hand saw some but little improvement when I paired it with my little Sabre Dac. Opened it up a little but the sound signature was still pretty much the same. Which isn't a bad thing but it is a bit limited but for what it is its a great budget amp for the LCD's.

Next up is a Fiio E10. I like budget amps Fun cheap and easy to move when you're done with them. I have a Burson that's the best amp ice ever heard that's been up for sale for Agee weeks now. If I put my O2 up for sale it'll be gone in a matter of hours!


Thanks,


D

 

[Mcberto]

I have a $300-ish budget for a DAC/AMP as of now. Looking to upgrade in the future. What would be good to start out from?

 

[MattTCG]

So you scored the lcd2 that was up for sale? Nice!! 
 
You don't have a lot to work with on that budget. The Asgard 2 has good punch and dynamics and pairs well. But then that would only leave you $50 for the dac. I'd stretch a few dollars and grab the modi to go with the A2. 
 
Also consider some of the Audio GD products with integrated dacs for a good savings. 

 

[Monir]

Quote:

I have a $300-ish budget for a DAC/AMP as of now. Looking to upgrade in the future. What would be good to start out from?

For $300 you can get a used D100 II, really good DAC/Amp, and it works quite well with LCD-2.

 

[stang]

Getting very excited for the arrival of my LCD-2 in 2 days 

 Just have to decide between the Little Dot MKVI+ and Yulong A18 (have ruled everything else out for either cost, aesthetic or performance reasons). AFAIK, I can't demo either and I pretty much have a gauge for the sound of the A18 based on reviews etc, but not the MKVI+ as there are very little reviews and comparisons of it. They both look great in silver too which is a huge plus 

 

[Monir]

Quote:

Getting very excited for the arrival of my LCD-2 in 2 days 

 Just have to decide between the Little Dot MKVI+ and Yulong A18 (have ruled everything else out for either cost, aesthetic or performance reasons). AFAIK, I can't demo either and I pretty much have a gauge for the sound of the A18 based on reviews etc, but not the MKVI+ as there are very little reviews and comparisons of it. They both look great in silver too which is a huge plus 

I really liked the A18 with LCD-2, there's a sort of fluidity in the sound which compliments the natural bold sound of the Audezes. However, I feel it benefits some dynamic cans even more, for example my K701 and HE-400 were almost blissful through the A18, I guess the characteristics of the A18 go better with such headphones; even heard that the HD800 should be a great fit.
 
Amps and I rarely get along for more than 2 months

so I'm going to try out other options with the LCD-2. And since I definetly can't try out anything apart from Burson and other more popular European and American products in Sweden (strangely they have Leben amplifiers at one place here though) I will have to order from China in order to 'audition' amps.
 
I'm also considering MK VI+ but I'm worried it will be too neutral, even with tube rolling. But aside that, I had really pleasent results with my previous Little Dot amp.

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

I'm also considering MK VI+ but I'm worried it will be too neutral, even with tube rolling. 

No chance of that happening. It is a chameleon of an amp. 

 

[stang]

Quote:

I really liked the A18 with LCD-2, there's a sort of fluidity in the sound which compliments the natural bold sound of the Audezes. However, I feel it benefits some dynamic cans even more, for example my K701 and HE-400 were almost blissful through the A18, I guess the characteristics of the A18 go better with such headphones; even heard that the HD800 should be a great fit.
 
Amps and I rarely get along for more than 2 months

so I'm going to try out other options with the LCD-2. And since I definetly can't try out anything apart from Burson and other more popular European and American products in Sweden (strangely they have Leben amplifiers at one place here though) I will have to order from China in order to 'audition' amps.
 
I'm also considering MK VI+ but I'm worried it will be too neutral, even with tube rolling. But aside that, I had really pleasent results with my previous Little Dot amp.

 
If only your A18 you have listed for sale was silver and I would jump on it and then you could get the MKVI+ 

 The A18 is definitely still on my list, but so is the MKVI+ which makes things difficult. 
Quote:

No chance of that happening. It is a chameleon of an amp. 

 
By this I assume you mean the tube's characteristics really shine through, which makes it a great choice for those who will spend some time (and money) tube rolling to get the exact sound they wish. I think I should look up various tubes that can be used with the MKVI+ and see if any have the sound characteristics I am looking for. Pretty sure the MKVI+ has a 4 week waiting time though 

 It would also be a pain if something were to go wrong with it as shipping it back would take quite some time and cost quite a bit of money.

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

 
If only your A18 you have listed for sale was silver and I would jump on it and then you could get the MKVI+ 

 The A18 is definitely still on my list, but so is the MKVI+ which makes things difficult. 
 
By this I assume you mean the tube's characteristics really shine through, which makes it a great choice for those who will spend some time (and money) tube rolling to get the exact sound they wish. I think I should look up various tubes that can be used with the MKVI+ and see if any have the sound characteristics I am looking for. Pretty sure the MKVI+ has a 4 week waiting time though 

 It would also be a pain if something were to go wrong with it as shipping it back would take quite some time and cost quite a bit of money.

If anything goes wrong I can fix it for you. As I have one and it's been modded. Hasn't been used in a while though its in the garage.

 

[stang]

Quote:

If anything goes wrong I can fix it for you. As I have one and it's been modded. Hasn't been used in a while though its in the garage.

 
That's very generous of you, thanks. Why haven't you used it in a while? Don't enjoy it anymore, not as good pairing with your primary headphones compared to another of your amps? I am really considering it over the A18 now. All these cable upgrades are so tempting right now though but if I buy them all now (new LCD-2 cable, XLR and coax) I won't be able to afford an amp for at least a couple of months 

 

[Monir]

Quote:

 
That's very generous of you, thanks. Why haven't you used it in a while? Don't enjoy it anymore, not as good pairing with your primary headphones compared to another of your amps? I am really considering it over the A18 now. All these cable upgrades are so tempting right now though but if I buy them all now (new LCD-2 cable, XLR and coax) I won't be able to afford an amp for at least a couple of months 

IMO cables don't make that much difference anyway. Unless you're actually using, say, a true balanced system and running it through RCA only. You'd want XLR recabling in order to use the full potentials of the MK VI+ for instance, David wrote so himself in an email when I asked him a few questions about the amp.
 
The A18 however sounds great even with unbalanced. I'm running it balanced right now though since I sold my Signal RCA cables.